PUDs providing telecommunications services

Connecting our Communities

The digital divide is most evident when looking at high-speed broadband connectivity in Washington's suburban and rural communities. Access to the internet highway for some in the most rural areas is comparable to the availability of electricity in the late 1920s and 1930s. This lack of accessibility fueled the public power movement in Washington State.

PUDs help bridge the digital divide, providing wholesale broadband capacity in their service areas and partnering with many private telecommunications retailers who, in turn, provide retail service to citizens and businesses.

FAST FACTS*

In 2000, the Legislature authorized the state’s public utility districts to provide wholesale telecommunications services.

As of 2016, 14 PUDs had installed more than 6,500 miles of fiber-optic cable.

These PUDs provide wholesale telecommunications to retail providers who served more than 37,000 end customers.